Chapter 2738: Three-Life Realm
In a martial training ground eighty zhang in length.
"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
...
Ten Saint King realm prisoners from the ancient civilization factions each unleashed different sacred arts, besieging the bloodied Ye Luochen. If they could kill this youth, they would gain their freedom.
The training ground was covered in Great Saint inscriptions, preventing the sacred arts and sword qi they unleashed from spilling beyond the arena.
Ye Luochen's long hair was half-white, draped across his cheeks. His chest was a bloody mess, and his back was charred black from lightning strikes. Gritting his teeth, he drew his sword and rose, and instantly, surging waves of demonic qi erupted from within him.
A dragon's roar resounded.
As his sword danced, demonic qi and sword qi transformed into a black dragon, charging at the ten murderous Saint Kings.
"Ah..."
Three consecutive screams rang out.
In an instant, three Saint King realm experts had their bodies split apart, flesh and bones scattering across the ground.
The other seven Saint Kings were also sent flying backward from the impact.
Ye Luochen let out a long roar, his eyes bloodshot. His form turned into a streak of lightning as he swung his sword seven times in quick succession, shifting his stance seven times, and cleaved all seven Saint Kings of the ancient civilization factions in two.
After delivering those seven strikes, it was as if he had lost all his strength. He dropped to one knee, gasping heavily.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Zhang Ruochen clapped his hands as he walked into the training ground. "Not bad."
Qi Sheng, who followed behind Zhang Ruochen, stepped forward and fed Ye Luochen a healing pill. He then placed his palm on Ye Luochen's crown, channeling thick sacred qi from his palm into the youth's body.
Ye Luochen sat cross-legged, and the sword-shaped Divine Martial Mark on his brow emerged, continuously absorbing the sacred qi.
This was already three years later!
Over the past three years, Ye Luochen had cultivated under the Sundial for roughly six hundred years. The rest of his time was spent in constant battle and slaughter.
He was no longer the youth he once was. Instead, because he was often pushed to the brink of life and death, forced to burn his lifespan, his hair was now half-white. Though his face remained young, it bore a deep weariness.
The technique he cultivated was the "Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription."
His main focus was the Sword Dao.
Zhang Ruochen possessed a total of seven "Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions": the Heavenly Demon Ascending Dragon Diagram, the Heavenly Demon Suppressing Prison Diagram, the Heavenly Demon Yin-Yang Diagram, the Heavenly Demon Tiger Roar Diagram... In addition, he had rubbing diagrams of the four inscriptions he had returned to the Blood God Sect.
Ye Luochen's talent far exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations. He could simultaneously cultivate eleven "Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions."
He had only one soul and one spirit, seemingly incomplete, yet his path of cultivation was not flawed. Instead, he was more focused than any other cultivator.
Once his injuries stabilized, Ye Luochen stood up, his gaze resolute and firm. "Master, I can still fight."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Your lifespan is running low. If you cannot break through to the Great Saint realm within a hundred years, you will die. So, for now, the most important thing for you is to improve your cultivation."
Ye Luochen wanted to reach the Thousand Questions realm in ten years.
Even with the Sundial's assistance, it was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
The method Zhang Ruochen used was the "Extreme Training Method."
This was a theoretically feasible approach.
He used the Sundial to aid his cultivation, battle and slaughter to force his growth, and his dwindling lifespan to apply life-or-death pressure. In this way, within three years, Ye Luochen had reached the Saint King realm.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Your cultivation speed has already slowed. You can no longer cultivate in seclusion under the Sundial. You must go out, temper yourself on the battlefield, and cultivate through worldly experience."
"The battlefield of the Heavenly Court and Hell is far more brutal than this training ground. It will test more than just your combat techniques."
"Remember, on the battlefield—no, anywhere, in front of any cultivator—you must not reveal that you are my disciple. Otherwise, you will die even faster."
"Qi Sheng, give him a new name and a new identity, and send him to the battlefield."
...
As Ye Luochen was leaving, Zhang Ruochen's heart softened after all. He took out a two-thousand-times-speed Radiant Light Merit Armor and gave it to him. With this armor, he could at least save his life in critical moments.
"I hope you can come back alive," Zhang Ruochen said.
Ye Luochen held the armor in both hands, kneeling on one knee. "I will never let Master down."
Qi Sheng watched Ye Luochen's departing figure and sighed. "If this child does not die, he will surely become another world-shaking figure who will awe both the Heavenly Court and Hell."
"His path is harder than anyone else's," Zhang Ruochen said.
Qi Sheng smiled. "Fortunately, he met you, Great Saint. Only then did he have the chance to display his talent and step onto the grand stage of cosmic conflict."
Many things had happened in the past three years.
Qi Sheng had cultivated under the Sundial for a thousand years, reaching the peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm.
With the King-grade Sacred Intent Pills and the Divine Illumination Lotus Zhang Ruochen had given him, combined with his extraordinary talent and a thousand years of hardship, Qi Sheng had fused a Third-rank Sacred Intent. He had even appeared before Xue Jue War God, formally entering the core circle of the Blood Absolute Family.
Now, they were not in the Blood Absolute Family.
They were in the Three-Life Realm.
Three years ago, the Three-Life Realm had been relocated to the cosmic secret realm once occupied by the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. Here, cosmic veins converged, transforming the once-barren Three-Life Realm into a place full of vitality and abundant spiritual energy.
Every year, the concentration of spiritual energy changed dramatically.
As Zhang Ruochen had guessed, the Heavenly Beginning Civilization had withdrawn to the Giant Spirit, Blazing Sun, and Hidden Ruins defensive line.
Now, the Three-Life Realm had become a war base behind the Rakshasa Star Pillar Realm. Cultivators from various clans heading to the battlefield mostly had to pass through the Three-Life Realm first.
To leave the battlefield and return to the Yellow Spring Star River, they also needed to go through the Three-Life Realm.
This was a tremendous opportunity for the Three-Life Realm, allowing it to grow into a powerful realm in a short time.
But for Zhang Ruochen and the Blood Absolute Family, it was a great test and challenge.
For this reason, both Zhang Ruochen and Xue Jue War God were stationed in the Three-Life Realm—one handling worldly affairs, the other deterring the gods.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky beyond, his gaze distant. "I will be leaving the Three-Life Realm for a while soon. From now on, all worldly matters in the Three-Life Realm will be handled by you and Yinghuo."
"This..." Qi Sheng said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What? No confidence?"
"No, Qi Sheng will give his all and will not let down the heavy responsibility you have entrusted to me, Great Saint," Qi Sheng said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do not tell anyone that I am leaving the Three-Life Realm. If anyone asks, say I am in seclusion cultivating."
"Understood," Qi Sheng said.
Now, the number of Sacred Dao Rules within Zhang Ruochen's body had reached a limit. The increase in Sacred Dao Rules had become very slow, and he could summon the Divine Tribulation at any time. But he was suppressing his realm, unwilling to take the risk.
Gong Nanfeng had sent him a message: after the Ten Realms Battle, Zhang Ruochen's ranking on the "Divine Reserve Scroll" had reached Grade A. But soon after, Zhang Ruochen's name had mysteriously disappeared from the scroll.
He warned Zhang Ruochen never to undergo the Divine Tribulation.
No wall is impervious to wind. Such a strange matter quickly spread throughout the Heavenly Court and Hell, causing an uproar and giving rise to all kinds of rumors.
"Zhang Ruochen has been cursed by heaven and will never reach the Divine Realm in this life."
"The so-called number one genius of ten thousand years is instead the number one waste of ten thousand years. If he cannot enter the Divine Realm, even if he is unmatched in the mortal world, how many years can he remain arrogant?"
...
"It is said that Princess Luo Sha wants to break off the engagement. She cries every day, begging Emperor Luo Yan and Divine Mother Tian Yin to annul the marriage. Even if a God Venerable arranged the match, Emperor Luo Yan would not push his own daughter into a fire pit."
"Naturally. Princess Luo Sha is the number one beauty of the Rakshasa Clan. Now that she has broken through to the Divine Realm, why would she be willing to marry a cultivator destined never to become a god?"
"Zhang Ruochen and Princess Luo Sha were betrothed a thousand years ago, yet the marriage has yet to be completed. This matter is probably true, not just a rumor."
...
"Everyone knows that Bore Goddess has a deep friendship with Zhang Ruochen. During the Ten Realms Battle, she even sacrificed her own cultivation to help Zhang Ruochen break through. But in recent years, Bore Goddess and Zhang Ruochen have had no contact at all, as if they have completely cut ties."
"Such is the coldness of human relationships. Even a goddess can be so pragmatic."
...
"It is said that the Yama Clan was very enthusiastic about forming a marriage alliance with the Blood Absolute Family, but now they have also cooled off."
...
There were many rumors, all unfavorable to Zhang Ruochen.
Those spreading the rumors seemed to want to tell the world that Zhang Ruochen had been abandoned by the major powers.
After all, if he lost the support of giants like Emperor Luo Yan, Fortune God Venerable, and the Yama Clan, then the forces that had previously dared not act against Zhang Ruochen would start to stir.
This was an attempt to put Zhang Ruochen to death.
Although Luo Sha had sent people to arrest and execute some of those spreading the rumors on the spot, as long as she did not marry Zhang Ruochen, she could not silence the public.
The cultivators of the world all thought she was just putting on a show.
Zhang Ruochen had begun to believe what Heavenly Mother had said. It was very likely that the Nether Hall had reactivated the curse, causing the strange phenomenon of his name disappearing from the "Divine Reserve Scroll."
It seemed he had to go to Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm again.
Heavenly Mother surely knew the method to break the curse.
But Zhang Ruochen also knew that to obtain the method to break the curse, he would have to compromise with Heavenly Mother and agree to a marriage alliance with Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm. That was why Zhang Ruochen had delayed going there.
Sometimes, Zhang Ruochen even wanted to forcefully break through the realm, defying fate and ignoring the "Divine Reserve Scroll," but Xue Jue War God scolded him.
Xue Jue War God told him, "With your current cultivation, you are not qualified to defy fate yet. Fengdu Dadi can, but you are still far from it."
"Boom!"
A thunderous explosion rang out above Zhang Ruochen's residence in the Three-Life Realm.
The defensive formation was attacked and manifested, taking the shape of an inverted bowl. A bolt of lightning as thick as a water bucket struck the formation, causing it to shake violently and cave inward.
Qi Sheng shouted coldly, "How dare you! Attacking the residence of Ruochen Great Saint!"
Zhang Ruochen stopped him and smiled. "The one who comes is no ordinary opponent. You are not her match yet."
A moment later, the lightning vanished.
Yan Zhexian's icy voice came from outside the residence: "Zhang Ruochen, I'll give you ten counts. If you don't release Ying'er, I will destroy your Three-Life Realm."